Ranking Japan's life science research

[Evaluation of "Japanese Journal of Psychology" using citation analysis]

This study investigated the professional impact of "Japanese Journal of Psychology." Thirty four psychological journals written in Japanese were selected to register articles in a new database. This database included approximately 23,900 articles published through 2010. Using citations extracted from the references and footnotes in these scholarly journals, the Psychology Citation Index for Japanese Papers was created. The citation impact factors in Japanese psychology was determined on the basis of the number of times a journal was cited, cumulative impact factors, and the cited half-life of the journal; five years was a valid period for impact factor of psychological journals in Japan. The changes in the 5-year impact factors of "Japanese Journal of Psychology" were reviewed by comparing it with other journals.

A bibliometric evaluation of European Union research of the respiratory system from 1987-1998

This study analyses the evolution of the bibliometric indicators of productivity and repercussion of European Union (EU) research into the respiratory system during the period from 1987-1998, describing the geographical distribution. Using MedLine, a selection was made of those articles by EU authors published between 1987-1998 in 38 respiratory system journals (classification from the Institute for Scientific Information). The journals, country of origin, number of articles and the relation to socioeconomic data, productivity index, visibility index, expected impact factor (EIF) and relative impact factor (RIF) were all analysed. The number of EU publications in respiratory system journals experienced an exponential increase, going from 606 articles (14.3% of world production) in 1987, to 2,325 (33.2%) in 1998. During this same period, the EIF increased from 1,258 to 2,111. The greatest gross productivities were those of the UK, France, Italy and Germany, although when corrected for number of inhabitants, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark headed the list. The countries with the greatest mean EIF were the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Belgium. In conclusion, productivity and repercussions of European Union research of the respiratory system experienced an important increase during this period.

Origin and evolution of the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University

The Department of Neurosurgery at Kyushu University had its origins within the First Department of Surgery and was established as a subspecialty at the Neurological Institute more than 30 years ago under the leadership of Katsutoshi Kitamura. Further development of the neurosurgical department has proceeded during the chairmanship of Masashi Fukui. These leaders and many other dedicated physicians and surgeons, nurses, investigators from other countries, and staff members have contributed to the creation of a research-oriented neurosurgical environment that interacts fruitfully with the other components of the Neurological Institute. This article describes the development of neurosurgery within Kyushu, which has been a highly cosmopolitan area throughout its long history. More specifically, this account outlines the origin and growth of the Department of Neurosurgery at Kyushu University.

A bibliometric study of the trend in articles related to epidemiology published in occupational health journals

OBJECTIVES

To study the role assumed by epidemiology in occupational health literature and characterise its change over the years.

METHODS

A bibliometric study was conducted with a MEDLINE search to evaluate 9024 articles published in eight representative occupational health journals for the period 1980-93. Articles related to epidemiology were found by descriptors indexed in the articles and their numbers and proportions among all published articles was tabulated for the study period.

RESULTS

The proportion of source items indexed by epidemiology as a descriptor increased over threefold from 7.9% (42/534) in 1980 to over 25% after 1990. Epidemiology was indexed most frequently as a subheading associated with other descriptors-for example, occupational diseases-epidemiology. Cohort studies had the largest increase in the descriptors that indicated epidemiological type of studies during the period studied.

CONCLUSION

Epidemiology is assuming increasing importance in occupational health literature. This was shown quantitatively and qualitatively by the use of descriptors in the MEDLINE database.